Improvement in air-tight tin cans



' UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFICE.

JAMES W. WRIGHT, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO W. H. I. HOWE, OF

. SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN AIR-TIGHT TIN CANS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 136,949, dated March18,1873.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES W. WRIGHT, of the city, county, and State ofNew York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Air-Tight TinCans, of which the following is a specification:

The object of this invention is to preventthe destruction of air-tighttin cans used for preservingfruits, milk, desiccated vegetables, fish,and meats, as well as spices, teas, coffee, and various other articles;and it consists in an air-proof top or disk soldered or fastenedairtight to the top of the can, and in a tin cover combined therewithand used on the can the same as the cover of a tin pail.

In the drawing, Figure l is a vertical section of the can taken on theline w :v of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a top view with the cover off, showingthe foil top partly in section.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

A is the 'can, properly made of tin, of the size and proportion of thetin cans ordinarily used in preserving various articles air-tight. B isa top, made of tin-foil or other air-proof material, but preferably oftinfoil, which is tightly soldered or fastened to the rim of the can. 0is the cover, which is fitted to the can so as to be removed atpleasure. D is the bail,

but the can may be made either with or without a bail.

The cans may be madesquare or in any other suitable form, and the cover0 may be hinged to the can, if desired.

The fruits, fish,,condensed milk, desiccated vegetables, &c., which areput up in tin cans for transportation to every part'of the world, andfor use in all parts of the country, form a large item in the productsand trade of the country. The tin cans as now used are, when emptied,thrown away. The quantity annually destroyed in the city of New Yorkalone numbers many millions. My object (as before stated) is to preventthis great waste and allow the cans to be used over and over for thesame purpose, or to become convenient receptacles of other articles, assmall pails or vessels convenient for a great variety of purposes. Thefoil top B is readily removed with a knife where the can of fruit, &c.,is to be opened. After the can is emptied it may be returned to themanufacturer or dealer, as it possesses value after use which the oldcan does not.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patentl. The tin-foil top B, in combination with a can forpreserving fruits, &c., air-tight, substantially as shown and described.

2. The foil cover B, in combination with the cover 0 and can A, as shownand described.

3. A tin can provided with an air-tight top beneath the cover 0, asshown and described.

JAMES W. WRIGHT.

Witnesses:

T. B. MosHER, ALEX. F. ROB RTS.

